Monday, July 18, 2011

PATTERN: Equalizer Blanket

Abbreviations:
American English: DC = double crochet
[British English: TR = treble crochet]
This pattern is in American English terms, the British terms are in [brackets].

An important note about corners:
I've used a DK weight yarn. This is lighter than a worsted weight yarn, so I created my corners by crocheting two DC [TR] + two chains + two DC [TR] into the corner space. If you find that your work is bunching or curling, it is possibly because your yarn is heavier or your tension is tighter. One way you can correct this is by only crocheting one DC [TR] into your corner spaces, i.e. one DC [TR] + two chains + one DC [TR] into the corner space.

Round 2:
Chain 1, do 1 DC [TR] in the same stitch below. Crochet 1 DC [TR] in next two stitches, *in corner space crochet 2 DC [TR] + 2 ch + 2 DC [TR], then crochet 1 DC [TR] in the next three stitches.** Repeat from * to ** twice more. Join with slip stitch to the top of the first DC [TR].

Round 3:
Chain 1, do 1 DC [TR] in the same stitch below. Crochet 1 DC [TR] in next four stitches, *in corner space crochet 2 DC [TR] + 2 ch + 2 DC [TR], then crochet 1 DC [TR] in the next seven stitches.** Repeat from * to ** twice more. Join with slip stitch to the top of the first DC [TR].

Round 4:
Chain 1, do 1 DC [TR] in the same stitch below. Crochet 1 DC [TR] in next six stitches, *in corner space crochet 2 DC [TR] + 2 ch + 2 DC [TR], then crochet 1 DC [TR] in the next eleven stitches.** Repeat from * to ** twice more. Join with slip stitch to the top of the first DC [TR].

Change to BLACKRound 5:
Chain 1, do 1 DC [TR] in the same stitch below. Crochet 1 DC [TR] in next eight stitches, *in corner space crochet 2 DC [TR] + 2 ch + 2 DC [TR], then crochet 1 DC [TR] in the next fifteen stitches.** Repeat from * to ** twice more. Join with slip stitch to the top of the first DC [TR].

(Yarn needed is given as an approximate amount. I was virtuously using scraps, so these amounts are approximate and represent the maximum amount I used.)

You need to crochet:

9 turquoise squares* (75g yarn)

17 green squares (150g yarn)

14 yellow squares (120g yarn)

11 orange squares (100g yarn)

6 red squares (50g yarn)

51 black squares + edging on other squares (1100g yarn)

* If you want to make a slightly longer blanket, crochet 18 turquoise squares (two rows of nine blocks), not 9!

Lay your squares out as per the diagram above and sew them together. I edged the blanket with a round of DC [TR] in black, then a round of SC [DC] in a contrasting colour (I used turquoise) and finished it off with another round of DC [TR] in black.

Oh goodness! I just commented on your Ribbon Blanket, and I can't believe that you made a blanket even more awesome than that one! I have so many friends at my college who are music majors... again, are you opposed to the product being sold if we give you credit for the pattern? :)

Hi Trisha: no, I don't mind you selling the blanket (if made by you by hand and not mass-produced for the commercial market, that is!) but, yes, I would appreciate it if you credited me as the designer. Thank you for the compliments and I hope you find lots of music majors that reeeeeeally need an equalizer blanket :-))

I love this blanket! I started making it and I'm having some issues with the squares (I think?). It seems where I join into the the first DC to end the row, a bit of a gap forms. What could I be doing wrong? Here is a picture.

Hello Pellaz,As far as I can see (and it's difficult to make out the black stitches), you have the same number of stitches on three sides, but on the side where you start the round, you have fewer stitches. Based on what I can see in the photo, the gap comes as a result of skipping stitches: you do a DC and then skip over two stitches in the row below, probably because it's a bit more difficult to wriggle the hook through the top of these stitches, and then continue into the top of the next clearly defined stitch! You have to be tough, though, and poke the hook through, so you have the same number of stitches across this side as you do across the others. Does that make sense, I wonder?

Hey the link to print the PDF isn't working? could you direct me to the alternate place to print it?

Also, what are the finished dimensions? :)

Thank you!!!! I'm making this for my husband who is having brain surgery in 3 months to remove a tumor which has taken some hearing- he loves music so this was the perfect fit for his special hospital blanket

Hello Heather!The site that used to create the PDFs seems to have gone out of business, so you can download it directly from me, just click the link at the start of the post!

I don't have the original blanket any more, I gave it to a friend for her birthday! I think it was about 1.4m wide and long enough to cover a bed, so it fit on a single bed with some overlap at the sides. Bear in mind, though, that I'm in Germany so our yarn is a different weight class to American yarn, so my sizing will be different anyway. However, it's not a difficult blanket to guesstimate: if you do one block and measure it, you can multiply across to figure out how many equalizer bars you need to get the desired width, i.e. if your block is 4" wide, you can figure that you need 12 to get +/- a 60" blanket (remember that the first and last block is always black, so ten coloured bars.) The same goes for the height. The beauty of it is that it's no big deal to add an extra bar/column or two to widen the blanket and an extra row of coloured blocks (plus an extra row or two of black blocks) to lengthen it.

I'm sorry to hear about your husband but I think it's lovely that you're making him something so cheery for his recovery. I hope all goes well for you both.

Thank you so much for the quick reply. Working on the first block now! One more question (for the moment)...do you have a post about how to join the squares? I've never made or joined granny squares! I just want it to be sturdy and was curious as to what stitch to use and if I should join row by row as I go or wait until the end? :) thanksn

Oh, Heather - I'm so sorry! This one slipped under the radar :-( I whipstitch my squares together, just put them face-to-face, sew along the edge. You can sew them in strips, horizontally or vertically (or both!) - there's no wrong way.